Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagCreativity

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Many Robo Women 7
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post
Author
News
Date
December 23, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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#9: Erica the Robot Stars in a Film. But Really, Does She?

This is just going to be a fancier Muppets movie, Eric Holloway predicts, with a bit more electronics
News
December 23, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks has been interviewing fellow computer nerds (our Brain Trust) Jonathan Bartlett and Eric Holloway about 12 overhyped AI concepts of the year. Lots of stuff happened and it’s the time of year for fun and entertainment! So here’s #9: Erica the Robot, from Japan, is to star in a film (filming begins in 2021): https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-113-Eric-Holloway-Jonathan-Bartlett.mp3 #9 starts at about 16:58 A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. A link to the complete transcript follows the Additional Resources. Robert J. Marks: Okay. We are counting down the Dirty Dozen hyped AI stories of 2020, and we’re at #9. In June 2020 in The Hollywood Reporter, we learned of the robot in…

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Question Signs
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post
Author
News
Date
December 4, 2020
Categorized
Information Theory
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Information Is the Currency of Life. But What IS It?

How do we understand information in a universe that resists resolution into one single, simple system?
News
December 4, 2020
Information Theory

At first, “What is information?” seems like a question with a simple answer. Stuff we need to know. Then, if we think about it, it dissolves into paradoxes. A storage medium—a backup drive, maybe—that contains vital information weighs exactly the same as one that contains nothing, gibberish, or dangerously outdated information. There is no way we can know without engaging intelligently with the content. That content is measured in bits and bytes, not kilograms and joules—which means that it is hard to relate to other quantities in our universe. In this week’s podcast, “Robert J. Marks on information and AI, Part 1.” neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews Walter Bradley Center director and computer engineering prof Robert J. Marks on how we…

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Code on computer monitor
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 3, 2020
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Robert J. Marks on Information and AI (Part I)

Robert J. Marks
December 3, 2020

What is information? How is information created? Will artificial intelligence ever be creative? Dr. Michael Egnor discusses information theory, correlations, and creative artificial intelligence with Dr. Robert J. Marks. Show Notes 00:27 | Introducing Dr. Robert J. Marks 01:14 | What is information? 06:44 | Exact representations of data 08:29 | A system with minimal information 09:27 | Information in…

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Blurred Thinking
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
October 1, 2020
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How Can You Talk to Yourself?

Robert J. Marks
October 1, 2020

If your mind is one, how can it talk to itself? What will artificial intelligence be like in the future. Dr. Geoffrey Simmons and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the mind, artificial intelligence, and Dr. Simmons’ book Are We Here to Re-Create Ourselves?: The Convergence of Designs. Show Notes 00:26 | Introducing Dr. Geoffrey Simmons 01:07 | Thinking and problem-solving…

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Robot standing holding a pencil on notebook,retro vintage style
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post
Author
News
Date
September 28, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Can AI Write the Great American Novel? Or Compose Sports News?

It’s a split decision, say Rensselaer prof Selmer Bringsjord and Baylor computer engineering prof Robert J. Marks
News
September 28, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

In a recent podcast, Rensselaer professor Selmer Bringsjord discusses AI and creativity with computer engineering professor and Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. The difference between writing novels and playing games like Go and chess is that writing novels does not mean winning according to a set of rules. A machine can be programmed with rules and do the calculations faster—much, much faster—than a human. A good novel requires creativity in the face of situations that are only partly definable. If a novel succeeds, many people agree that the writer has captured essential elements of human nature and life circumstances. That’s what makes the great novels so memorable. Sports reporting is somewhere in the middle in that a great…

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The robot writes with a pen and looks at the computer monitor. Artificial Intelligence
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
September 24, 2020
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Bingecast: Selmer Bringsjord on the Lovelace Test

Robert J. Marks
September 24, 2020

The Turing test, developed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human. Many think that Turing’s proposal for intelligence, especially creativity, has been proven inadequate. Is the Lovelace test a better alternative? What are the capabilities and limitations of AI? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Selmer Bringsjord discuss…

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Neanderthal or Homo Sapiens Family Cooking Animal Meat over Bonfire and then Eating it. Tribe of Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers Wearing Animal Skins Eating in a Dark Scary Cave at Night
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 1, 2020
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
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Did the Human Mind Originate in Telling Ourselves Stories?

A philosopher and writer tries to account for the jump from animal to human by wholly natural means
Denyse O'Leary
September 1, 2020
Philosophy of Mind
Philosopher Keith Frankish melds linguist Daniel Dor’s ideas with philosopher Daniel Dennett’s to come up with a revealingly circular theory. Read More ›
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Oh no!
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post
Author
News
Date
August 27, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Machine Learning
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Six Limitations of Artificial Intelligence As We Know It

You’d better hope it doesn’t run your life, as Robert J. Marks explains to Larry Linenschmidt
News
August 27, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Machine Learning

The list is a selection from “Bingecast: Robert J. Marks on the Limitations of Artificial Intelligence,” a discussion between Larry L. Linenschmidt of the Hill Country Institute and Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. The focus on why we mistakenly attribute understanding and creativity to computers. The interview was originally published by the Hill Country Institute and is reproduced with thanks.  https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-097-Robert-Marks.mp3 Here is a partial transcript, listing six limits of AI as we know it: (The Show Notes, Additional Resources, and a link to the full transcript are below.) 1. Computers can do a great deal but, by their nature, they are limited to algorithms. Larry L. Linenschmidt: When I read the term “classical computer,” how does a computer function? Let’s build on…

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close-up view of robot playing chess, selective focus
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 27, 2020
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Bingecast: Robert J. Marks on the Limitations of Artificial Intelligence

Robert J. Marks and Larry L. Linenschmidt
August 27, 2020

Robert J. Marks talks with Larry L. Linenschmidt of the Hill Country Institute about nature and limitations of artificial intelligence from a computer science perspective including the misattribution of creativity and understanding to computers. Other Larry L. Linenschmidt podcasts from the Hill Country Institute are available at HillCountryInstitute.org. We appreciate the permission of the Hill Country Institute to rebroadcast this…

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Alfred Nobel Prize
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post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
May 14, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind
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Thinking Outside the Box Is Not a Disease

Enforced orthodoxy, often described euphemistically as “scientific consensus,” is an impediment to science
Michael Egnor
May 14, 2020
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

At the Skeptical Inquirer, we read about the“Nobel Disease,” whereby Nobel Prize-winning scientists ditch critical thinking and embrace unorthodox views. In reality, unorthodoxy helped them win the Prize.

Read More ›
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Lightning in the dark
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
May 8, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Should AI Hold Patents? The Flash-of-Genius Answer

To understand why AI cannot independently invent, let’s look at how famous inventors have actually done it
Robert J. Marks
May 8, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Like Excel, AI assists programmers in their design work. AI can search through trillions of possibilities, using data from a million sources, to find a successful design. But the structure of the search and the source of the data is the choice of the programmer. A look at how famous inventors developed products that changed the world sheds some light on the process.

Read More ›
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High-Ranking Military Man holds a Briefing to a Team of Government Agents and Politicians, Shows Satellite Surveillance Footage.
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
May 4, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Military
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Calvin and Hobbes Explain Why AI Will Never Rule the Battlefield

The creativity needed for successful command is beyond the capability of AI
Robert J. Marks
May 4, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Military

AI sifts enormous amounts of accumulated data. But successful military strategy often depends on creating a new approach to a problem, one that lies outside the historical data available to the opposing forces. Muhammad Ali and Hannibal were famous for using such strategies.

Read More ›
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Retro Robot plays with wooden ABC cubes on floore. 3D rendering. Education scientist robot student
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post
Author
News
Date
May 1, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance
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Ruling: AIs Can’t Hold Patents

The US Patent Office has ruled that only "natural persons" can own patents, not machines
News
May 1, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance

An issue left untouched is whether AI can, in principle, be creative in any event. There is no real evidence for that. The big worry, perhaps, is not being replaced by one’s tools but being ruled by them.

Read More ›
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The Creative Brain
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post
Author
News
Date
April 28, 2020
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind
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Is There a Creativity Module in the Brain?

Both hemispheres are important for creativity, according to recent research, but the adventure lies beyond
News
April 28, 2020
Arts & Culture, Philosophy of Mind

What we are really learning is that minute mapping of the brain is not likely to give us a complete explanation of creativity. Let alone a means of control. Answers, when they appear, lie in the immaterial world of the mind.

Read More ›
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Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 16, 2020
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Will AI Ever Write a Critically Acclaimed Novel?

Robert J. Marks
April 16, 2020

AI is starting to write and some of the copy reads quite well. Other writing is garbage. What’s the capability and limitation of writing by AI? Will AI ever write a novel that wins the Nobel Prize for Literature? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Selmer Bringsjord discuss creativity, artificial intelligence, and writing. Show Notes 00:37 | Introducing Selmer Bringsjord, Professor…

Team of Professional Scientists Work in the Brain Research Laboratory. Neurologists / Neuroscientists Surrounded by Monitors Showing CT, MRI Scans Having Discussions and Working on Personal Computers.
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 9, 2020
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Can We Upload Ourselves to a Computer and Live Forever?

Robert J. Marks
April 9, 2020

There are some who say immortality is available if we can upload our minds to a computer. This presupposes our minds are computable and can be duplicated by a computer. Are our minds computable? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Selmer Bringsjord discuss consciousness, cognition, and artificial intelligence. Show Notes 00:39 | Introducing Selmer Bringsjord, Professor — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)…

thought-catalog-505eectW54k-unsplash
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 2, 2020
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The Turing Test is Dead. Long Live The Lovelace Test

Robert J. Marks
April 2, 2020

The Turing test, developed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour indistinguishable from a human. Many think that Turing’s proposal for intelligence, especially creativity, has been proven inadequate. Is the Lovelace test a better alternative? Robert J. Marks and Dr. Selmer Bringsjord discuss the Turing test, the Lovelace test, and machine…

jelleke-vanooteghem-8Arw-cEpt-Q-unsplash
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
December 19, 2019
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The Unexpected and the Myth of Creative Computers – Part II

Larry L. Linenschmidt and Robert J. Marks
December 19, 2019

Robert J. Marks talks with Larry L. Linenschmidt of the Hill Country Institute about the misattribution of creativity and understanding to computers. This is Part 2 of 2 parts. Other Larry L. Linenschmidt podcasts from the Hill Country Institute are available at HillCountryInstitute.org. We appreciate the permission of the Hill Country Institute to rebroadcast this podcast on Mind Matters. Show…

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Computer user analyzing images on a scree
Type
post
Author
News
Date
August 23, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Technocracy
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Sorry, AI can’t do our thinking for us

J. C. Derrick asked Robert J. Marks whether AI can outthink people or make humans immortal
News
August 23, 2019
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Technocracy
Creativity, Marks argues, can only exist if the programmer places it in the computer program, which means that the program itself is not creative. People have tried "a bunch of different things and nothing seems to work. They can’t get smarter programs that way." Read More ›
Old Trumpet Brick Wall
Type
post
Author
Brendan Dixon
Date
August 13, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Fan Tries Programming AI Jazz, Gets Lots and Lots of AI…

Jazz is spontaneous, but spontaneous noise is not jazz
Brendan Dixon
August 13, 2019
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

As Gioia says, jazz depends on the “personality of the individual musician.” And the blindspot of AI creativity is: There’s no one home.

Read More ›